


love languages

by GuardianKarenTerrier



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Music, Tourism, accidental flash mobs, akuma dodging, platonic marichat mostly but ladynoir too, yes music is important enough to tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2019-06-06
Packaged: 2020-04-11 13:07:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19110295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GuardianKarenTerrier/pseuds/GuardianKarenTerrier
Summary: There's a very familiar figure standing in front of the wall.Marinette hasn't seen Chat Noir so still all day.  Even his tail is hanging limp, without the faintest twitch, and there's a slump to his shoulders that puts a stiffness into her own.The other people around are giving him a wide berth.  Marinette very nearly turns to leave, too, but-Unlike the others here, she knows Chat Noir.  She knows that set to his spine, the way he's standing with his chin tucked under, the restless way he's rolling his baton between his hands.She sees the unhappiness in the way he's holding himself and she's moving towards him before she ever sees the butterfly.





	love languages

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kellarhi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kellarhi/gifts).



> this is a summer santa gift for kellarhi, and i hope you enjoy reading it as much as i did writing it! it got. rather longer than intended.

Recently, Marinette's really been making more of an effort to detransform farther away from home and walk back as a civilian.  Hawkmoth has been getting more obviously desperate and she doesn't think it's wise to leave _any_ connection she can help between Marinette and Ladybug- there have already been several villains with the ability to track, after all, and then there are the days that the akuma come one after the other in a way that leaves her and Chat Noir running themselves ragged as they fight through what feels like all of Paris.

Days like today.

Marinette had stopped counting after the fifth akuma.

She'd stopped feeling guilty about begging for handouts for Tikki down by the Seine after the eighth (Marinette may not have been counting by then, but Chat Noir still had been, and whenever they'd met back up he'd seemed to have had a much worse time of finding his kwami food).

She'd at least managed to do most of the begging as Ladybug, whereas civilian Marinette had simply bought whatever she could whenever she had enough of a break to do so, so she's not too worried about any of her classmates hearing anything that might sound suspicious. 

Chat Noir had looked so relieved when she'd turned back up with cheese danishes to split with him between fights. She has no idea what _he'd_ been resorting to in order to feed Plagg, but he'd obviously met with less success than she had. 

Marinette stops walking for a moment, slumping hard against the nearest wall without much caring what might be on it and wiping one hand across her forehead.  Her hand comes away damp with sweat despite the fact that it isn't particularly hot out.  "Tikki, I just want this day to end." She looks longingly down the street, wondering how close to the bakery she's likely to get _this_ time before another alert sounds.

Maybe there won't be another one.  Maybe they're really, honestly done for the day this time.

Marinette can't quite convince herself of that.

"Me too, Marinette." Even Tikki sounds exhausted, and Marinette gives her purse a worried look. Tikki is curled up tightly in a position she doesn't think she's ever seen her kwami take before.  Marinette isn't the only one exhausted.

She wonders how Chat Noir and Plagg are doing.  They've _all_ gone from fight to fight to fight today without nearly enough rest between, and Chat Noir's used Cataclysm more times than she has Lucky Charm.

Marinette sighs and forces herself to start moving again.  She can't risk transforming again just to check on her partner and she doesn't exactly know how to find him otherwise. She's _almost_ positive she's identified his username on the Ladyblog but she'd really prefer not to draw attention to that- she would almost prefer he not do that at all, but it too obviously delights him.

It's only as she walks away that Marinette realises exactly what the wall she'd been leaning against actually is, and she lets out a tired giggle that's enough to make Tikki stir with interest.

"Marinette?" her kwami asks, blinking, and still so obviously exhausted that Marinette feels bad about how much time she's spent transformed today. Then she reminds herself that the blame for that lies with Hawkmoth, not with her.

"It's nothing, Tikki," Marinette replies, letting her laughter die down.  "It's just-" She gestures behind them.  "I just realised, this is where the Le Chat Noir collection is."

"Oh!" Tikki uncurls a little more, peering up at Marinette with interest. "Do they have one just for him?"

That startles Marinette into another laugh.  "No, it's- it's not for _our_ Chat Noir, Tikki, Le Chat Noir was a nightclub." She tilts her head, thoughtful.  "He'd probably love to go see it, though, and I bet they'd be thrilled to have him."

"...you should ask him." Tikki snuggles further into Marinette's purse, closing her eyes again.  "He'd like that, you know."

Marinette sighs.  "Tikki, I don't want to lead him- Tikki?" She glances down, finding her kwami is already sound asleep.  "Okay, never mind, then."

She resumes her slow way home, but now that Tikki's said it she can't stop thinking about it.  It's just-

Marinette spends most of her time with Chat Noir these days.  (She would say all of her _free_ time, but that's not a thing either of them really _have_ anymore). He's undeniably her best friend and she _enjoys_ spending time with him even when it's fraught with danger. 

It's been a while since she really had a chance to hang out with Alya.  Marinette is beginning to think Chat Noir knows her better than Alya does now, even with their masks.

(That Chat Noir doesn't like or trust Lila does, admittedly, factor into that feeling more than it probably should).

It _would_ be nice to spend more time with her partner when they aren't fighting for their lives.

For their Miraculous, anyway, but neither of them is stupid.  Hawkmoth isn't likely to take the risk that they'd take their Miraculous right back, _and_ he's-

He's killed Chat Noir before.

It's taken Marinette a very long time to be able to think about that clearly, because at first every time she'd really tried her thoughts had skittered away from the topic before it could feel real to her.  But- not only had Chat Noir been gone, so had far too many of their classmates, and it's far from the only time. Hawkmoth hadn't seen any apparent problem with flooding the city, either, or turning everyone into knights, or-

Marinette doesn't exactly think that Hawkmoth would use her Miraculous Cure if he got his hands on her earrings.

People have died, and more still could, and she doesn't think that he would bring them back. _Maybe_ he would.  Maybe he's not so far gone as that. 

She can't stake people's lives on a _maybe_.

And-

As much as that scares her, as responsible as she feels, Marinette's never been as terrified as when she thought she might lose her partner.

It's selfish of her, but she can't bring herself to feel bad about it.  Every time she loses him even briefly it's like losing a part of herself- like losing the _best_ part of herself.

Marinette's lost track of her surroundings. It's only when she realises she's stopped walking again that she shakes her head and looks around , taking in where she's ended up.  She hasn't made it very far- she's still in Montmartre, and she's only walked as far as the Wall of Love. It's late enough that the wall is closed, which is disheartening, because it means she really has been out all day.

Marinette pauses and looks again.

The wall _is_ closed, but there's a very familiar figure standing in front of it.

She hasn't seen Chat Noir so still all day.  Even his tail is hanging limp, without the faintest twitch, and there's a slump to his shoulders that puts a stiffness into her own.  He's obviously looking at all the different translations of 'I love you' on the wall but she doesn't really think he's _reading_ them, not with the way his posture sparks alarm somewhere deep in her soul.

Marinette glances around, but it's getting late and the other people around are giving him a wide berth.  She's a little taken aback by that but then they have both been fighting all day and they aren't exactly _subtle_ about it.  It's possible the other people around all feel that Chat Noir's earned some privacy. 

Marinette very nearly turns to leave, too, but-

Unlike the others here, she _knows_ Chat Noir.  She knows that set to his spine, the way he's standing with his chin tucked under, the restless way he's rolling his baton between his hands. 

She sees the unhappiness in the way he's holding himself and she's moving towards him before she ever sees the butterfly.

" _Tikki_ ," she hisses, looking around frantically for a place to transform.  There isn't anywhere close enough, there isn't-

The akuma darts towards Chat Noir's baton and he jumps, hisses, and takes a swing at it.  The akuma evades him-

And turns towards Marinette and _her_ rising fear.

"Today has _not_ been a good day," Marinette says through gritted teeth, even as her partner spots her and his eyes widen in alarm. 

Marinette doesn't look at the akuma.  She knows better than to focus on it. She closes her eyes and thinks, fiercely, _No_. _No!  I'm Ladybug.  I'm stronger than this, I'm prouder than this, and I will_ not _fight my partner again_!

She opens her eyes.

The akuma is hesitating, agitation visible in the erratic way it flutters in front of her, and then it turns and makes for Chat Noir again.

Marinette can't let that happen.  She _can't_.  Darting forward, she whirls to place herself between Chat Noir and the akuma, planting her feet and squaring her shoulders as he takes a startled step back and the akuma pulls up short.

"Chat Noir, think happy thoughts," Marinette hisses, stepping slowly sideways to _keep_ herself between her partner and the butterfly.

"What?" Chat Noir whispers, sounding confused and- and not quite afraid, but close.

"Happy thoughts," Marinette insists, half-raising a hand as the butterfly makes another feint at her and she thinks fiercely of her last sleepover with Alya, and when that doesn't quite work she thinks firmly of fighting back-to-back with Chat Noir earlier in the day.  "Think positive, the akuma don't _work_ if you aren't feeling a negative emotion!"

She can _hear_ the way his spine straightens in his reply, she knows the cocky smirk in his words by heart.  "You _are_ clever, princess. I would hate to fight you."

"That makes two of us," Marinette says dryly, still tense and scanning the area. 

Chat Noir must find something to focus on, because the butterfly starts to backwing.  It's odd to be so close and see it behaving so obviously _not_ like a real butterfly. She knows, intellectually, that the akuma aren't _really_ butterflies but it's an easy thing to forget.

The akuma whirls and darts, and while people are already scattering as they spot it and shouts go up the area is still too crowded.  It's _way_ too crowded, and while several people have already struggled out and started running there are still far too many people and the akuma is diving straight for them.

Marinette doesn't think.  She just plunges into the crowd alongside Chat Noir.

"Stay calm and think of something happy!" she shouts,  straining to be heard over the rising noise, and Chat Noir steps closer and curls one arm around her waist.  He glances at her, evidently seeking permission, and at her frantic nod he levers them both above the crowd on his baton. 

"Hey, everyone!" he shouts, waving wildly with his free hand.  "Think happy thoughts, we need your help!"

"You can't be akumatized if you're thinking of happy memories!" Marinette yells out after him.  "It doesn't _work_ , you can avoid the akuma!"

The civilians still around them initially scatter just enough to avoid the increasingly confused butterfly, but they rally quickly. 

Marinette does _not_ expect the voice that soars above the others, determined and loud and clear, and she equally does not expect the rest of the crowd to so immediately join in.

"Just think of a wonderful thought," a young man starts, steel flashing behind the fear in his eyes as he stands straighter, gaze locked on the confused akuma. "Any merry little thought-"

As the butterfly wheels and sets its sight on someone else, a woman across from him calls back, "Think of Christmas, think of snow-"

Unexpectedly, Marinette feels the familiar deep rumble of Chat Noir's purr as he also joins in. "Think of sleigh bells, off you go, like reindeer in the sky!"

At least six different people with varying levels of talent sing out, "You can fly, you can fly, you can fly!"

The akuma is flitting in an uneven circle., darting at different people and recoiling each time when they join in the impromptu song. Bewildered, Marinette's eyes flit from person to person before finally taking in that maybe a quarter of them are dressed nearly identically.  Her heart skips, then soars- the handful of choir members are carrying both the song and the rest of them as they get louder and more enthusiastic.

Chat Noir nudges her. She looks over at him and catches the twinkle in his eye in time to know he's about to chime in again, and when he starts to sing her voice joins his.  "Think of the happiest things, it's the same as having wings!"

The akuma turns for someone else, but it's flying raggedly.  Marinette makes herself think deliberately of how she's almost definitely failing chemistry by now, and when the akuma starts to weakly wing back towards her she calls out, like a challenge,  "Take the path that moonbeams make, if the moon is still awake, you'll see him wink his eye!"

The akuma halts in midair, hovering for second in a way butterflies _don't_ do before twitching first one way, then another, apparently unable to decide on a target.

By the time their gathered crowd enthusiastically calls back, "You can fly, you can fly, you can fly!," the butterfly is barely in the air at all.  Marinette holds her breath as she watches its wings flutter weakly, hoping against hope that their desperate improvisation has actually _worked_.

The akuma soars up into the air suddenly. 

Marinette flinches, and she feels Chat Noir do the same-

And the akuma turns in the air and _leaves_.

"Did," Marinette says, stunned.  "Did that really just _work_?"

Chat Noir is staring after the akuma, looking just as stunned as she feels as the strangers around them burst into cheers and laughter.  Some of them are still singing, caught up in the song or more familiar with it than the others. "I-I think it did.  Marinette, you are _amazing_."

She flushes as he drops them both to the ground.  Chat Noir is very careful to make sure he's still supporting her.  "It wasn't _me_ , Chat Noir, it was _all_ of us." She looks around and realises there's really only about a dozen people with them, all of whom are various degrees of grinning and flushed. 

Marinette raises her chin and her voice, eyes flashing as she says loudly, " _All_ of us together drove off Hawkmoth!"

The first man to start the song takes a step closer, tilting his head in a way that makes Marinette acutely aware of how strongly the spark in his green eyes reminds her of Chat Noir even as her partner shifts restlessly beside her.

"Hey, I'm Cory," he introduces himself, joy still evident in his voice.  "Chat Noir is right, that was amazing!" He raises one hand to the back of his head and grins sheepishly.  "But, uh, that akuma went for you two first? Would you like to-" He waves vaguely behind him, at the people still clumped nearby. "Okay, so I don't actually, like, know most of these people.  But, uh, seems like we'd all get along pretty well?"

One of the women laughs and sidles up next to him. "Well we're gonna have to _now_.  I'm Aurora, it's nice to meet you, Chat Noir!" She gives Chat Noir a bow she might well have copied from him.  "Thank you for doing so much for Paris."

"I- you're welcome," Chat Noir says, tail lashing once.  "But you should be thanking Marinette this time, not me. This was her idea."

"Happy thoughts was my idea," Marinette tells him.  "The, uh, flash mob? Not so much."

Aurora and Cory both laugh.

They _are_ part of a choir, along with a woman named Gene that they're happy to introduce.  The three of them don't know the others but it doesn't take long to start introductions.  There's a couple named Jean and Marie that were just coming home from a date, a man named Marco who says he works nearby, and someone who introduces themselves as Star and gestures very shyly to a pronoun badge on their vest.

Rhea and Dave were on their way to karaoke, which makes everyone else laugh and Gene tease them about Disney medleys before asking if they'd be interested in joining an actual choir.

There are Enzo, Dan and Lin, who admit sheepishly they'd been planning a LARP meetup- and then Enzo lifts his shirt to reveal the Ladybug cosplay beneath.

Marinette loses Chat Noir for a good ten minutes worth of enthusiastic discussion with Enzo. 

She takes a step back to study him, though, the animated way his tail lashes and his hands wave as he happily argues the tensile strength of different fabrics with his new friends.  The delighted glitter in his eyes seems to hit her somewhere deep in the gut. 

Marinette doesn't often get a chance to see Chat Noir interact with other people outside of a fight.  He's-- more awkward about it than she would have expected, frequently ducking his head and avoiding eye contact, stopping himself short every time he seems to think he might be interrupting someone else.   He's never like that with her.  He isn't like that with her even when he sees her as a civilian, and she wouldn't have thought he'd be like that at all.

She's already agreed to stay with the others for a little longer, because the akuma had gone for her too, but watching her partner cements for her that it was the right choice to make.

"Hey!" Marco says, ducking back into their group with an ear-splitting smile before Marinette had even realised he was gone.  "Hey, they said if we wanna spend some time in the area, they're gonna open some stuff back up!" He nods at Chat Noir, practically glowing.  "And the Le Chat Noir people wanna know if they can get an autograph."

Marinette reflexively slaps a hand over her purse before anyone else can hear Tikki's giggling.

There's no slump to Chat Noir's shoulders now.  He agrees enthusiastically to sign any autographs anyone wants, and Marinette wonders with private amusement how often anyone remembers that they both use symbols as signatures anyway.

Star is the first to suggest somewhere to go, speaking up so quietly that Lin repeats their question loud enough for the others to hear.  "Star wants to check out Mondolingua, does anyone else?"

"What's that?" Marinette asks, curiosity piqued.

Surprisingly, it's Chat Noir that answers her.  "It's a language museum.  It gets overlooked a lot for the flashier museums, but it's supposed to be really interesting if you like languages."

He looks more than wistful enough to make Marinette's decision for her.

Reaching for Chat Noir's hand, relieved when he takes hers in turn, she calls out, "I'm in, how about the rest of you?"

There are varying degrees of enthusiasm in the responses she gets back (the three choir members and the two for karaoke are _very_ interested, the others less so), but everyone agrees to go.

The owner looks more than a little startled to see their entire group spill through his front doors. 

"I'll be honest, we are closing about-" He stops and holds up his wrist, squinting at an old and oddly bulky watch, and sighs.  "We are closing about forty minutes ago, evidently." He sets down the book he'd been engrossed in and blinks owlishly at his visitors.  "We _are_ open again in the morning, as we are open three hundred sixty six days a year excluding leap years, but-" His eyes widen as Chat Noir shifts restlessly beside Marinette. "Chat Noir?"

"Um," Chat Noir says, sheepishly.  "We just had- a bit more excitement than we'd have liked outside, and I've always wanted to come here, and is there any way we could stay just for a while? I can pay!" he adds, fishing in his pockets and holding up the generic wallet Ladybug had gotten for him to carry a while back.  After all, if only one of them gets to _have_ pockets, they might as well both take advantage.

He's still shuffling around in their wallet, carefully thumbing the patterned paper that divides his funds from Ladybug's, when the proprietor stands up and shakes his head.  "Oh no, no, Chat Noir, I can't take your money!  Not with everything you and Ladybug do for Paris!"

Chat Noir stills, but he looks uncertain, and he doesn't put the wallet away.  Marinette's just about to take pity and intervene when one of the women says, "But there are a lot of us.  It's not fair to you if we don't pay."

Chat Noir shoots her a grateful look. "Marie is right, monsieur, it wouldn't be fair."

The man rubs his temples for a moment, pushing his glasses up briefly, and then offers, "How about this? I give you all a discount, and I can try and get some pictures for the website.  Is that agreeable to everyone?"

After about five minutes of discussion, and an attempt to pool money that results in several people secretly trying to add more or to cover their friends or partners without their knowledge, everyone is happy with that compromise. 

With a grin the owner comes around the counter at last to collect their money.  He stores it in a glass jar he places back on the desk itself and Marinette fights a creeping suspicion that they're all going to leave with more of their money than they're expecting to.

"I'm Mark, by the way," the man introduces himself, slipping between them and flipping the sign to CLOSED.  At everyone's expressions, he grins and says, "I think you've all earned the private tour, don't you?"

The museum is small enough that 'tour' is a bit of a misnomer.  Mark explains where each section is and what it's devoted to first.  While he's going into more detail, Star wanders slowly off to investigate the nearby section on tonal languages and Gene joins them shortly after. The other choir members and their erstwhile LARPers spread out between animal noises and onomatopoeia, and Rhea and Dave drag Marco over to the giant scrabble game.

Marinette finds herself wishing there was a safe way for Tikki to look around, too.  She has the feeling her kwami would _love_ this.  Maybe if she comes back on her own another time she'll be able to sneak Tikki into some of the exhibits.

It takes Marinette some time to realise that not only are she and Chat Noir the only ones who have yet to drift off, even their tour guide is gone.  He'd stopped to explain something about tonal languages to Star and by now Marinette can tell he's too deeply into the topic to be returning any time soon.

She looks over at Chat Noir and finds herself greeting his goofy grin with a gentle smile of her own.  "Well, here's your chance to satiate your curiousity, cat."

"You know what that does to a cat!" He mimes a blow to the chest, taking an exaggerated step backwards while being very careful not to bump or disturb anything.  "You can't murder me in here, princess, there are witnesses."

Marinette makes a show of looking around.  Every one of their new friends has found something to engross themselves in, even Marco and the three cosplayers, who she'd thought might be less than interested in a language museum.  "They're only witnesses if they actually see it happen."

"I am not actually sure that's true," he tells her, inclining his head in a way that abruptly reminds her how much taller than her he actually is.  She forgets that, often, when they spend as much time as they do well above the skyline, when Chat Noir so frequently wants to duck into her side and purr during their rarer and rarer downtime.

That thought straightens her spine.  Not only do they have some of that precious downtime available right now, they have opportunities they wouldn't normally have.  "It all sounds equally interesting to me.  Why don't we wander and see what catches our attention?"

His eyes glint.  "Was that a pun I heard?"

"No," Marinette says, turning smartly on her heels.  "It was a _purr_ fectly normal use of language."

Evidently not all the others are quite as absorbed as she thought, because she hears several snorts at that, including the owner.

They end up studying a wider range than either of them had planned for- she wants to investigate the origin of language myths, and he wants to learn more about neurolinguistics and speech therapy, and they both want to learn as much as they can in their limited time about feral children and the development of language and from there they wind up at sign and body language.

"Have you and Ladybug ever discussed learning sign?" Marinette asks Chat Noir, more curiously than the question really warrants considering she knows the answer.

"I've thought about bringing it up," Chat Noir admits, gently trailing his claws along a keyboard.  Marinette has mostly taken over interacting with the exhibits for him, because although they're older computers and don't give him the trouble touchscreens do they're still not made for someone with claws.  "I just haven't found a good time, I guess."

That surprises her.

He _has_ had time, she thinks, confused.  She probably wouldn't have appreciated him bringing it up during a fight but they meet up for patrol frequently, too. They probably shouldn't, and they didn't initially plan to because it's less practical than going separately _and_ if they had stuck to switching off nights the way they'd meant to they would both be getting more sleep, but as it is they meet for patrol at least every other night.  Sometimes more than that.

She thinks about the weird way he'd deferred to the others while they'd still been talking outside.  He'd been a little better talking to Enzo once they'd hit on a shared interest, but until then he'd been just as shy as Star seems to be.

Marinette blinks. 

It's never crossed her mind before that her kitty might be _shy_.

"You should definitely ask her, ki- Chat Noir." Marinette stares at the nearest exhibit as she speaks, feeling entirely too weird about telling Chat Noir that he should tell Ladybug something. "I'm sure she'd think it's a good idea." Actually, she kind of wants to kick herself for not thinking of it sooner, especially when there's been more than one akuma it could have really helped with.

She wants to kick herself even more that her partner somehow hadn't felt comfortable enough to suggest it.

Chat Noir laughs, and she doesn't think she would hear the strain in it if she knew him even the slightest bit less.  "We've kind of had a lot going on, you know? I didn't want to bring in _another_ thing to worry about." He rakes one hand through his hair, green eyes going a bit dimmer than usual as his pupils contract.  His eyes have largely been only the faintest glimmer of green in the dim light until now.

"How is that another thing to worry about?" Marinette asks, taken aback and genuinely confused.  If anything, she thinks knowing they have a fallback method of communication would _decrease_ their stress levels- and as today has demonstrated, both their stress levels are currently _dangerously_ high.

"It's a whole new language to learn." Chat Noir reaches out idly to one of the nearest displays, only to arrest his movement when Marinette reaches out and flips it to the next page for him.  "When would we even have time?"

Marinette can't look at him when she says, "I'm sure she'd make time for you if you asked."

He only makes a faint noise in return, faint enough that she can't tell if it's agreement or not, and Marinette tries to figure out if there's a discreet way she can hint around the topic as Ladybug if he _doesn't_ bring it up.

They've spent easily a couple hours in the museum before anyone starts expressing that they'd like to leave. Half the group wants to take the chance to watch the sunset from the basilica steps, and the other half mostly doesn't want to go home, so they all make their way over together. They only split up briefly when Marie and Dave admit that they aren't up to walking that many stairs at a time.

Marinette shrugs, glancing between the strange group.  They are all, for some reason, looking to _her_ as well as Chat Noir, and it feels like she's in the wrong skin.  It feels like it would be much too easy to slip up and slip into being more obviously Ladybug than Marinette.  "We don't all have to take the steps.  Some of us can take the funicular."

Chat Nor blinks and tilts his head, one ear tilting towards her, as he adds, "I can take someone, too.  I can really only manage one or maybe two of you at a time, but I can make more than one trip."

To her surprise, several voices overlap as everyone insists that Chat Noir take _her_ and the rest of them will make their own way.  Marinette doesn't even realise that Mark's come along with them until he suggests that they don't stay too long, as he wants to show them how to find Montmartre's hidden windmill and to introduce them to some of his favourite cafes.

Mark also agrees to be in selfies in front of the Mondolingua only if Chat Noir agrees to be in them too, and Marinette quickly takes advantage of that- photos indicating that they're here with a group of people are about all that can possibly cut down on the inevitable Ladyblog speculation. She's well aware that she's been with Chat Noir long enough now that Alya _is_ going to demand an explanation, but she might still be able to preempt any more dangerous rumours.

It's not just Mark.  Enzo is insisting that they _have_ to check out the cheese bar at Le Petit Moulin Montmartre, and Lin says they can't miss visiting the statue at Place Dalida, and Marinette notices Star and Aurora and Gene exchanging numbers in the back of the group.

Marinette is slowly beginning to realise she's going to have to come back here more than once after this.

It's nice, though, to have a chance to really _experience_ her city when she isn't fighting for it.  It's nice to have a reminder of _why_ they fight so hard.

_Today's adventures are tomorrow's akuma repellent_ , she thinks wryly, and resolves to share it with Chat Noir when they have a moment of privacy.  She thinks he'd appreciate it.

Star makes sure to let everyone know exactly where on the stairs they can see the optical illusion of a sinking house from, and Chat Noir quietly asks Marinette if she's certain she wants to come with him before wrapping his arm around her waist again.

She does want to go with him. She doesn't really want to leave him, not now, not after the day they've both had and definitely not after the akuma trying to target him.  She still doesn't know exactly _why_ it went for him and she's not leaving him until she's sure he's safe. 

Chat Noir lands them both gently most of the way up the stairs, at a perfect spot to have a fantastic view of the sunset.  His baton is the fastest possible way here short of her own yo-yo so they have time to themselves before the others are anywhere near joining them.

Chat Noir sinks into a crouch on the steps, looking up at the sky as Marinette joins him.  She doesn't _mean_ to sit so close against his side but once she has she can't bring herself to move away.  Besides, people are giving them a surprisingly wide berth- and Marinette is beginning to suspect she had better check for any new Ladyblog posts that might account for that- but the basilica steps are as crowded as always and she'd really rather stick close to her partner.

"Thank you," Chat Noir says suddenly, startling her out of her internal reverie.

"For what?" Marinette asks him without thinking about it.

"That akuma-" He gestures vaguely with one clawed hand, before letting his arm fall limply to his side. "I didn't even see it at first.  I wouldn't have kept reacting in time."

"You would have done okay without me, Chat," Marinette says softly, aching at the tired lilt to his voice.  It _has_ been a long day, and while she knows Chat Noir likes being transformed even more than she does it's not really like him to stay out as Chat Noir so long after a fight.  It's especially worrisome now, when Marinette knows full well that _she_ passed the 'so tired I'm not tired' line hours ago and he's been just as active or more all day. "You _can_ fight them off.  You would have been able to."

"It took a _dozen_ of us to do that." He takes a deep breath and shifts beside her, stiffening slightly when he realises how close she really is. Marinette leans against his side until he relaxes again.

She weighs the pros and cons of telling him this, but the memory of that butterfly coming so close to his baton decides her.  "Ki- Chat Noir, one person can do it, too. _I've_ done it.  If you just- just turn the negative emotions around on your own, or- or replace them with something that makes you happy or proud just as strongly as the first thing made you afraid or sad, the akuma _leave_." She tilts her head back to look up at the sky herself, at all the different colours painting the sunset in front of them, before she adds quietly, "But it's not always safe.  When I did it the akuma just went straight for a different target."

When Char Noir shakes his head, his hair fuzzes out and tangles with her own and Marinette resists the urge to reach up and brush one hand along his face.  Her own face colours enough that she has to quickly look away before he notices.

She's never had that reaction to Chat Noir before. 

She's never had that reaction to anyone but Adrien before.

She realises, slowly, that she hasn't thought about Adrien in hours.  She's not sure she's thought of him all day, not with as much time as she's spent with Chat Noir.

"You should be more careful, if you're seeing akuma." He doesn't look at her, ducking his head and tracing one hand along his baton. He laughs sadly.  "You're brilliant, Marinette. I'm not sure I could defeat you."

"You're pretty clever yourself, cat." Marinette nearly doesn't reach over to flick his bell, because it's too much a Ladybug gesture, but the memory of the akuma going for her partner is still strong enough that she starts to reach for him after all. He leans towards her with a nearly inaudible purr, before his pupils suddenly dilate and he jumps away. 

Marinette's about to ask him what _that's_ about but that's when the first part of their group catches up to them.

"Hey," Cory says, flushed and out of breath but grinning.  He plops down on the step below them both, tilting his head back to address Chat Noir as the others straggle in one by one.  "We're trending on Instagram, you know.  Mark is thrilled, there's a whole bunch of people looking for tours and the Mondolingua usually gets pretty overlooked."

"Happy to help?" Chat Noir says, ducking his head and rubbing the back of his neck.  "I mean, I don't- I don't want people thinking I'm doing promotions? But we had a lot of fun there."

"I think your conscience is clear on this one, Chat Noir," Marinette says dryly.  "Considering how many of us piled in there."

Cory snickers as Aurora and Dan drop down on either side of him.  Marinette notes with amusement that their new friend's dynamics are still shifting, that people who were with one group hours ago are with a different one now and people who were alone aren't anymore.

It takes her a moment to realise that applies to herself and Chat Noir, too.  It was mostly by coincidence that they'd both been here at all.

(- coincidence and how _long_ it takes to walk home from constant akuma attacks, and considering Chat Noir hasn't detransformed and they still managed to be at the Wall of Love at the same time he can't be moving very fast himself.  But then, she knows that Chat Noir never seems to want to go home at all).

They do all gather together on the stairs to watch the sunset.  They're there for quite a while, long enough for a few other groups to leave, and like before it's with varying levels of interest- Lin produces a deck of cards from somewhere, and he and Rhea and Mark start off playing poker but when Marinette next looks over it seems to be a poorly planned version of Go Fish instead and Enzo is not hiding that he's cheating. She doesn't even know when he started _playing_.

Marinette mostly does watch the sunset herself.  As stressful and frightening as their day has been, having a chance to rest comes as such a relief that it's likely to _be_ one of those akuma-repelling memories.

When Marie starts humming Marinette doesn't even notice that she's joined in at first.  By the time she _does_ notice, she's far from the only one humming- Enzo and Star and Chat Noir are as well.  Marinette's less startled than she might otherwise have been when Aurora throws her arms out, falls dramatically backwards onto Cory behind her, and starts singing loudly.  "Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes, five hundred twenty five thousand moments so dear, five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes- how do you measure, measure a year?"

Most of the rest of their group joins in and Marinette _is_ startled when she hears other people from all across the stairs join their voices as well. "In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee!"

Chat Noir is singing too, although his voice is quickly lost in the swelling of voices around them.  Some people are shouting more than singing and several people are wildly off key and Marinette laughs quietly before letting herself join in again.  "In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife! In five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes- how do you measure a year in the life?"

It's rapidly becoming more and more obvious that not everyone knows all the words, but enough people do to carry the rest of them. 

What must be dozens of people, most of whom can't possibly know each other, compete to see who can shout, "How about love!  Measure in love, seasons of _love-_ " the loudest for far longer than actually goes on in the song.

Gene's voice, vocal training evident now, soars joyfully above several others.  "Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred _minutes_ , five hundred twenty five thousand journeys to plan, five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred _minutes_! How can you measure the life of a woman or a man?"

"In truths that she learned, or in times that he cried," Cory sings out, his voice deep and clear.  "In bridges he burned or the way that she died!" Gene and Aurora join back in as he keeps going.  "It's time now, to sing out, though the story never ends! Let's celebrate, remember a year in the life of friends! Remember the-" He pauses, and Mariette understands why a moment later when the crowd swells back to a roar again.

People all over the steps are calling back, shouting, "Remember the love!" as loud as they can.  Some of them never stopped shouting from before. 

It's _wonderful_.  Marinette can't stop grinning so wide her cheeks are beginning to hurt, and she can feel the deep rumble of Chat Noir's purr where she's pressed against his side- she _should_ move away, there's no way people aren't recording this, but they're hardly the only ones on the steps who are crammed close together.  They're not even the only ones in their group, Enzo and Star and Dave are in such a tangle of limbs that Marinette is a little worried that if any one of them overbalances they'll _all_ go tumbling down the steps.

The singing finally start to fall apart, coalescing instead into scattered bursts of song spread wide around them, but rush of warmth and joy it brought stays.

Chat Noir doesn't move away from her at all and Marinette leans into his side to leech some of the warmth from his suit with a sigh. The song is breaking up amidst shouts and laughter so she feels secure in striking up conversation again.  "Today has been a long day."

She regrets that a moment later, because if he asks she can't exactly tell him _why_ it's been a long day, but Chat Noir only sighs and says, "For a lot of people, apparently."

Marinette decides that's a vague enough springboard that it isn't suspicious if she brings it up.  "I don't think there's been that many people akumatized in one day since Hero's Day."

Chat Noir shudders and she tucks herself in even closer to his side before she can think better of it.  "At least it wasn't all at once.  I was a little afraid he was about to do that again."

Three steps down, Jean turns to call over, "You and the rest of us, Chat Noir!" She shakes her head, then makes a face as her hair comes free and tumbles loose.  Marie hands her a spare hair tie without looking, then offers one to Marinette as well.

"Uh, thanks?" Marinette blinks as she takes it, then winces as she runs her hand absently through her hair.  It _does_ need to be redone, now that she checks; usually her pigtails come through akuma attacks perfectly intact but usually villains don't hit them one after another all day.

Usually.  This is getting to be more frequent than she wants to admit.

"Hey," she says suddenly, a thought striking her.  "Who here has a Ladyblog account?"

Several snorts answer her.

"All right, it's not _that_ odd a question!" Marinette says, exasperated.  "Put your _hands_ down, oh for- I just wanted to say, we should get Al- the Ladyblog to post something about driving the akuma off.  If everyone knows how to do it, it makes Hawkmoth's job harder and Chat Noir and Ladybug's job easier, right?"

"Good idea," Lin says, dropping his hand of cards.  The card game has _long_ since entirely dissolved anyway but Marinette still blinks when she sees one of his dropped cards is a joker.  "But, uh, it might have to wait until tomorrow? The Ladyblog is a little... it has some heavy traffic right now."

"That's the best time to post it, though?" Chat Noir's ears flick back. "We _want_ people to see it."

Aurora scoops up her phone from where it's lying abandoned beside her, unlocks it, and hands it wordlessly to Chat Noir.  A little worried now, Marinette leans over to look at it.

And blinks.

The entire homepage is saturated with pictures of their recent adventures.  Marinette notices with relief that there's no particular focus on any one person, herself included, even though she _knows_ Alya's noticed and is going to demand answers the next time she sees her. There's just- there's no way Alya doesn't see Marinette in these photos; there are even several candid ones of various different parts of their group laughing and chatting with Chat Noir, and Marinette is in _most_ of those.

She's glad she had the forethought to upload pictures of her own earlier, but she should have known that it wouldn't be enough to satiate Alya. 

"Hey," Rhea says, leaning over with a suddenly intense expression.  "There's a video."

It's not very good quality, clearly filmed on someone's rather shaky cellphone from a distance, but it's clearly their not-so-small group call-and-response singing until the akuma flies off. People are already uploading videos from the basilica steps as well, even though there are still small occasional fragments of song drifting from the crowd.

The forum thread in response to the initial video is going wild.

(So much for keeping her profile low today.  There's no hiding this, and she's not sure that she'd even _want_ to, but- she did not intend for video of her civilian self and Chat Noir warding off an akuma to be splashed all over the internet, either.  This is almost exactly the opposite of what her original intention had been).

"Well," she says, slowly. The video is already out there, she might as well take advantage.  "This _would_ be the best place for us to comment."

Four more people take out their phones.  Two of them reveal they have the Ladyblog set to their homepage.

Marinette rubs at her forehead, tiredly. 

Aurora glances up, laughs, and offers, "Hey, the Ladyblog usually has information on akuma even before the city warning system.  At this point it's silly _not_ to be subscribed to it."

"Wait, are you seriously not subscribed?" Chat Noir asks her, his ears flicking as he twists towards her.  They were sitting close before, but this brings even more of his side in contact with hers, and Marinette's turning trustingly into him before her mind quite catches up with her actions. 

She doesn't pull back, though.  She can't, not when she still doesn't know why he was at risk of being akumatized earlier.

Though given he'd been standing in front of the Wall of Love she can make some educated guesses.  Unfortunately, all of them leave her with a hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Aren't you best friends with-" Chat Noir starts, incredulous, and Marinette punches him in the arm without thinking.

He gives her a hurt look, complete with wide kitten eyes, and she sighs.  Unlike everyone else here, she knows exactly how sensitive his hearing is, so she also knows exactly how quiet to be when she gestures at the people surrounding them.  "I'd rather they not know that, in the interest of not getting mobbed."

Chat Noir makes a show of looking around, at the way their new friends have scattered out in a rough circle around them both, and then turns back to her and raises an eyebrow. 

He doesn't say anything else, but then he doesn't have to.

Marinette flushes, before hissing, "That's _different_ , all right."

He grins and holds up his hands in placation. "Just saying, princess."

Marinette groans and shoves down her rising guilt even as she says,  "Can you maybe not call me that in _incredibly_ public places?"

His grin widens, and his voice is much closer to a purr when he replies, "What's the fun in that?"

Abruptly he is sitting _much too close_.  Marinette coughs and shifts away a little, careful not to jump away and make him think he's really upset her.  Just- she just desperately needs some distance from him, suddenly.

Her kitty looks a little disappointed but Enzo soon strikes up a conversation with him about the best ways to utilise the Ladyblog with their new knowledge. Eventually Chat Noir himself opens up a forum thread (and she _knew_ that was his account, she knew it, someone had gotten both Chat_Nyar and actualcatchatnoir before him and she'd been _sure_ that cheshireGrin was really him and she was _right_ ).  Chat Noir summarizes the relevant information- that happy thoughts can confuse the akuma and even discourage them altogether.  He links another thread Dave starts, one that encourages everyone to take a moment and post at least one good thing that's happened to them today. 

The Ladyblog is enough of a high traffic site that not all of their group makes it on the first page of comments, but a lot of them do.  There are also very quickly a _lot_ of posts about singing on the steps of Sacré-Cœur.

Marinette relents and signs in as clumsyCouture before uploading only a picture of herself and Chat Noir against the backdrop of the sunset.  She makes sure there are other people in the picture, and even that the two of them aren't centered, but she can't resist tagging it as 'hanging out with my favourite hero.' Which is... probably a bit much, but it's true, after all.

And she's never told anyone her username- not even Alya. With the photo's angle, it could be any of the people with them right now uploading it, and Marinette definitely plans to dodge that particular conversation with Alya if at all possible.

Eventually, though sunset's not really over, their group begins to break up.  The choir members admit they need to go home and get some sleep because they have a performance the next day. Cory sends everyone a link to their website and Rhea and Dave leave with them, apparently seriously considering their offer to join the choir. 

Mark salutes as he gets up and heads back to his museum.  Marinette almost asks him if he wouldn't rather go back home but something in his eyes stops her.  It's clear enough that he'd rather return to the Mondolingua, and for all she knows he _does_ live there, but whether or not that's true his reasons are his own. 

The others scatter too, murmuring about people they have to get home to and promises they have to keep.  It's not very long before it's just Chat Noir and Marinette alone with each other once again, or as alone as they can be in a heavily touristed area. Tourism has taken a large enough hit from Hawkmoth that there still aren't nearly as many people around as there once would have been.

Although, as Marinette looks around, she realises a lot of people are giving them inscrutable glances before getting up and leaving.  Very shortly the stairs are as sparsely populated as she's ever seen them.

Marinette would be lying if she said that wasn't a relief. It's depressing, because it's a very visible sign of Hawkmoth's impact on the city, but it's still a relief under the circumstances.

"So," she says, finally, turning to scoot along the step until she can draw her legs up onto it and blink across at Chat Noir.  He mirrors her, almost automatically, and Marinette loses her train of thought for a moment because it's so like the way they move in sync when they're both transformed.  He really is a part of her, and she him, no matter what else they might be to each other.

And Marinette is a little afraid of what else they could be to each other.

(She's barely thought of Adrien all day, not while she was fighting and flying and flipping through Paris with her partner.  As much as the thought of him makes her go weak at the knees- and everywhere else as well, if she's honest with herself- not even Adrien gives her the sense of _belonging_ she feels with Chat Noir at her side.  No one does).

"So?" Chat Noir echoes, and Marinette realises she's been staring at him without speaking for some time now.

She shakes herself, briefly, before meeting his eyes again.  "So I've never seen you upset enough for an akuma to target you."

He blinks at her, crossing his arms over his legs as he draws them in towards himself.  His tail wraps around his ankles. He sounds defensive as he says, "And why did it switch targets to _you_?"

"Nice deflection," Marinette says dryly.  "I saw it and was scared for you.  I'm serious, I don't want to fight you, and I'm sure Ladybug doesn't want to either."

He shrugs, his gaze dropping to the stone between them.  "Wouldn't be the first time, you know.  It's a good thing she's better than me."

"Chat Noir," Marinette says, one part startled and two parts horrified.  "She is not, and she wouldn't want you to think that!"

His tail flicks, once, belt buckle clinking loudly against the step.  Sunset is nearly over by now, and they're as alone as they're likely to be here when he says, softly, "Thanks for the support, but I'm pretty sure everyone thinks that."

Marinette can't help herself any longer; she scrambles to a kneeling position, then lunges forward and hugs him, hard. 

(He doesn't even flinch.  She knows he has just as many battle-formed reflexes as _she_ does, but he doesn't flinch from Marinette any more than he ever does from Ladybug).

"Chat Noir," she says, muffled against his shoulder.  Very hesitantly, one of his hands comes up to gently cup the back of her head and Marinette suppresses a shiver as she feels his claws trail lightly through her hair.  "Chat Noir, you are _just_ as important as Ladybug, and don't you dare forget that."   She still suspects that's not the real reason his mood had dropped low enough to attract an akuma, but if he isn't going to tell her then he isn't going to tell her.

He takes a ragged enough breath that she thinks he might be on the verge of tears, but he's wrapped his other arm around her now and she can't see his face from this angle.  She can feel him shaking against her, though.  "Thank you for that, Marinette."

"Any time," she tells him, just as quietly, and she means it.

As reluctant as she is to leave him alone even now, she _does_ have to go home eventually and presumably so does he.  Chat Noir offers to take her home himself, and she nearly declines, but- she's tried to walk home half a dozen times today, with varying degrees of success depending on where the next villain had appeared.  She can swallow her pride long enough for him to bring her back to the bakery.

It entirely defeats the point of walking back home but she's well past the point of caring, _and_ well the past the point where it still matters, considering the rising traffic on the Ladyblog and the swiftly accumulating comments on the video of all of them. 

Besides, with Chat Noir's baton they cover the distance to the bakery in minutes.

Marinette's missed dinner by several hours and she winces at the doorway in anticipation of what her parents are going to say to her.  Taking a deep breath, she puts her hand on the handle, ready to open the door- and notices that Chat Noir is still hovering nearby. 

"You know," she says, more amused than anything.  "I'm pretty sure I can handle myself from here."

Chat Noir averts his eyes.  As he raises one hand to the back of his head, Marinette watches a blush rise around the edges of his mask with fascination. "I know you can, I just... wanted to be sure."

"You can be sure," she tells him, raising an eyebrow.  "Seriously, I'm only-"

That's when the door opens, naturally, and to Marinette's surprise Maman doesn't look either worried or surprised. 

"Marinette, dear, we wondered when you'd finally be ready to come home," her mother says, poorly concealed mirth in her voice.  "According to the Ladyblog, you two seemed to be having quite an evening.  Chat Noir, I know it's late, but would you like to come in for a bit?" She smiles at him, her eyes crinkling at the corners.  "I couldn't help but notice none of today's adventures seemed to include a meal, and you _have_ had a very busy day.  And Marinette, don't think I don't know when you've forgotten to eat!"

Marinette quickly catches herself exchanging guilty looks with Chat Noir.  She hadn't _forgotten_ , exactly, but she can hardly explain that she'd had to prioritise feeding Tikki over herself.

(Poor Tikki.  Her kwami's had to keep quiet all this time, knowing what they do about Chat Noir's hearing.  Marinette hopes Tikki took the chance to nap but she doubts it).

"I shouldn't stay," Chat Noir says, but the way his tail is lashing makes Marinette think that he'd _like_ to.  Considering she knows for a fact he hasn't been home all day and she's well aware he hasn't eaten any more than she has, that makes her worry about him all over again.  "Thank you, though."

He bows to them both before turning to extend his baton.  There's still enough reluctance in his movement that Marinette wishes he _would_ just stay for dinner. 

"Well, then remember that our door's always open for you," Maman says, and Marinette's eyebrows go up when Chat Noir only hesitates a moment before vaulting away.  

He's still not acting like himself.

He's still not acting like himself, so she finds something to eat quickly to satisfy her parents (and her own gnawing hunger), and then pleads exhaustion and goes up to her room. She only doesn't go out to the balcony yet because Chat Noir _has_ shown up on her balcony before. Marinette can't risk transforming outside when she doesn't know where he is.

She barely gets her purse open before Tikki flits out, giggling. "Oh, Marinette! I told you he'd enjoy it."

"You did, and you were right," Marinette says, settling gingerly on the chaise lounge. Tikki sees that she's not moving to get ready for bed and stops, hovering in front of her and tilting her head in silent inquiry. "I know, Tikki. We both had fun. But he's- something's wrong, I _know_ something's wrong."

Tikki perches on the back of the desk chair so that she can look Marinette in the eyes. "Because the akuma went for him, you mean?"

Marinette thinks back, to how her mind had already been on her partner when she'd spotted him, to that slump in his shoulders and that too-still set to his spine. To the way his jokes had been getting oddly strained towards the end of the day, the way he'd gone quieter on her with each successive akuma until she'd been the one nudging him and sharing puns as they came to her. "No- well, yes, but something was wrong earlier. And he was so relieved when we came back with those danishes, too- you don't think there's something wrong with _Plagg_ , do you?"

Tikki clearly takes a moment to think about that before replying. "I don't think so, no. I know Chat Noir isn't always as cautious as he should be, but I don't think he'd be careless with Plagg's safety any more than he would yours."

"I need to go check on him," Marinette says, feeling like an uncomfortable buzz has settled under her skin, lodged itself against her heart. "I need to know that he's okay."

Tikki flits off the chair to nuzzle her briefly before curling up against her collarbone. "So go, Marinette."

Marinette checks the balcony very carefully for cat-eared shadows. Ladybug emerging from her bedroom would be a significantly larger hint than being spotted on the balcony, considering how many rooftops they've run across today, but she'd rather no one connect her with the bakery at all. She'd actually prefer to transform somewhere else but she's frankly had much too long a day to put in the effort of sneaking out as a civilian. She knows she _should_ , but she's too worried and impatient to actually do it.

At first she isn't quite sure where to go. Then she thinks about where they'd been earlier, and some of the other places they've been recently, and sighs and makes her way to the Pont des Arts.

He's at least in the shadows under the bridge rather than sprawled somewhere up top. He _is_ still sprawled out, on his stomach on the ground with his arms folded under his head, but he obviously took the time to get out of sight first. Ladybug drops down beside Chat Noir and he doesn't stir except to flick one ear in her direction.

She decides not to say anything for now, slipping into a sitting position next to him instead and leaning against the bridge supports in silence.

Chat Noir sighs deeply and relaxes as he turns his head towards her. He blinks slowly and then shifts so that his side is in contact with her leg, reaching out with one hand and wrapping it around her ankle.  As soon as they're in contact most of the tenseness melts out of his frame. 

She doesn't ask him what's wrong this time. She can't, when she already suspects, when almost anything she can say would make things worse and the one thing that wouldn't would be a lie. She can't promise him anything when they both know she loves someone else.

She knows she's deflected more than one joking confession today.  She knows that to him, they probably weren't entirely jokes.  She just- she _can't_ , she'd be _lying_ to him, to _herself_ , if she let herself respond. Maybe things _would_ be different, if she wasn't so sure she'd already fallen so hard for Adrien that she has nothing left to _give_ , but things _aren't_ different. Marinette can't change how she feels, and neither can Chat Noir, and there are days that those facts leave them both floundering.  There are days, too, when the bond they _do_ have burns so brightly that it's hard to remember that they _aren't_ like that.  

Marinette hadn't _thought_ today was one of the former days- it's certainly been the latter for _her_ \- but then she doesn't know everything that goes on in her partner's head, and she definitely doesn't know what other non-akuma-related pressures he's faced today. 

She can't ask Chat Noir why he hasn't gone home, either, because she might suddenly find herself with too much information and anyway it isn't as though _she's_ home right now.

Chat Noir is apparently in a rare silent mood because he still doesn't say anything. Ladybug settles more comfortably against the bridge supports and tugs him closer gently until he's nearly in her lap. She stops before he can end up all the way in her lap, even though part of her cries out that he's still not close _enough_.

She's going to blame that one on Plagg and Tikki, she thinks.

Marinette is going to be dead on her feet at school tomorrow, but if it means she knows Chat Noir didn't spend the night sleeping under a bridge by himself it will have been worth it. She hums quietly and he lets out another of those deep sighs and she suddenly can't stand it anymore. 

Chat Noir opens his eyes and gives her a betrayed look when she starts singing.

Ladybug can't quite keep the smile off her face as she sings,  "Somebody once told me, the world was gonna roll me, I ain't the sharpest tool in the shed, she was looking pretty dumb with her finger and her thumb in the shape of an L on her forehead-"

When she pulls away from him long enough to match words to actions Chat Noir finally starts laughing and Marinette feels like the out-of-place parts of herself have snapped back together. His grip slips off her ankle and she grabs his hand in hers without really meaning to.  His fingers wrap around hers tighter than they usually do, though, and she's not going to pull away.

He pushes himself up on one elbow, sticking his tongue out at her before rejoining with,"The years start coming and they don't stop coming, fed to the rules and I hit the ground running- didn't make sense not to live for fun, your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb!"

His voice picks up in volume and enthusiasm as he gets going and she shushes him before they get caught, although the way she's giggling as she does it means he probably won't take it seriously, especially when she answers him.  "So much to do, so much to see, so what's wrong with taking the backstreets?"

They're trading lines back and forth and he's gotten both elbows under himself now, has propped his chin on her knee and is looking up at her with a grin that still doesn't quite eclipse the shadows in his eyes.  "You'll never know if you don't go, you'll never shine if you don't glow!"

They both fall into the rest of the chorus together.  "Hey now, you're an all star, get your game on, go play! Hey now you're a rock star, get the show on, get paid!"

Marinette has every intention of stopping there, but Chat Noir dramatically throws himself the rest of the way into her lap and wails, "All that glitters is gold!  Only shooting starts break the mold-"

"Kitty, you're going to get us caught," she laughs, catching his shoulder as he cuddles closer.  She definitely doesn't have the heart to ask him to move.

He scoffs. "Caught by who, my Lady? And at what?"

She tugs her other hand loose from his (he hasn't let go once) and ruffles his hair instead.  Lets her thumb brush the base of his ear, knowing it's not a good idea, knowing that the startled purr it draws out of him is worth it anyway. "Trespassing _is_ still illegal, Chat Noir."

He snorts, even as he shoves his head into her hand and purrs louder.  "I don't think anyone's going to arrest us for it."

"I dunno, Rogercop might," she teases, moving to make sure her back is solidly against the bridge supports and that they're both safely out of sight. "Man might get akumatized again."

"Mm." His eyes are fluttering shut as she rubs loose circles around one ear, then the other. "Let him, we can take him. An' it's a bridge, it's public, what is he, a bridge troll?" His voice is drifting, too, gone looser and more languid with the rest of him.

"Okay, I think you might be sleep deprived," Marinette tells him. "Don't say things like that, I don't think Hawkmoth has thought of a bridge troll akuma yet."

Chat Noir lets out a deep sigh and snuggles closer.  Marinette's already resigned herself to sleeping under the bridge with him, because she can't just leave and he doesn't seem likely to leave at all.  

Marinette does think grimly of her incomplete chemistry homework, the makeup test Mme. Bustier was kind enough to offer her today that she'd _missed_ while they were out fighting, the way her grades are dropping steadily.

She thinks about the people they'd fought today.

People who'd only been having bad days.  Everyone has bad days.  She and Chat Noir have had a bad day- several in a row now, really.  It _happens.  
_

One of today's akuma victims had been through a bad breakup.  Two had been so stressed out by work or school or both that they'd been targeted.  Another had been trying to take a nap and the akuma had seized on a nightmare.

They'd spent hours with civilians today, with everyone bolstering each other's spirits so that they couldn't be targeted, and as proud as she is of all of them it also makes Marinette ache for her city. They don't _deserve_ this.  They don't deserve to be terrified of their own emotions, and then to have _that_ terror itself be a potential draw for Hawkmoth. 

She looks down at her partner, who's melted into her lap by now and is purring in a soft, constant vibration, something she feels more than she hears. A wave of relief floods through her.  Not Chat Noir.  Hawkmoth can't send another akuma for her partner now, and she _knows_ he isn't going to forget how to drive the akuma away.

"So I hear you had quite a day," she says, stroking his head between his ears and grinning when his purr stutters for a moment.  She does it a again and he shoves his head into her hand, insistent, and she obliges by scritching between his ears.  "You okay, kitty?"

"As much as we ever are." He groans, shutting his eyes and letting more of his weight settle on her.  "I missed a lot of obligations today.  I _should_ just go home and face it, but I- I really don't want to." His eyes open again, but he's staring off into nothing now.  "I don't want- if I go back _now_ , that won't be the only akuma I have to chase off today."

"But you _can_ chase them off," Marinette reminds him, gently, smoothing his hair back.  Faintly she's aware that she _meant_ to keep more distance between them, that the last thing she wants to do is lead him into thinking there could be more between them when there _can't_ be.

She's aware.  She's just not willing to let him go.

"I had help." His mouth curves in a shadow of his usual grin.  "A friend.  Several friends, afterwards."  He sighs deeply, contentedly. "I don't think you've ever met Marinette.  You'd like her."

Once she's sure she can answer without bursting into hysterical giggles, Marinette says, "I'm sure I would, kitty.  She protected my partner, after all."

"She did," Chat Noir agrees drowsily, before his mouth opens in a yawn that makes her acutely aware how sharp his teeth are.  She really _hopes_ that's a transformation thing. "But then she had to go home."

He sounds sad about that, not jealous the way she'd thought he might.  She wishes again that he'd just taken Maman up on the offer to stay for dinner.

"Well, that just means it's my turn to protect you." Marinette flicks his bell, just to see the way his ears and tail twitch at it.  "What do you think, minou?  Your new friends and I can tag team."

He mumbles something and Marinette pulls him closer.

"Shouldn't need protection," he mutters, turning so that he can curl up as close to her as he can from their awkward angles.  " _I'm_ supposed to protect."

"You know, I'm not too sure Carapace would agree with you there," Marinette teases, and Chat Noir makes a face at her.

"Chaton," she say, finally. "Why don't you get some sleep? I really will stay right here, there's no danger."  She pauses.  "Okay, there's only the usual amount of danger."

He snorts.

"You know what I mean." She smooths his hair back, ignoring the voice of her conscious (or possibly her kwami) telling her this a bad idea. 

They don't make to class on time.  They don't make it to class at all. 

She doesn't _really_ mean to sleep under the bridge with Chat Noir, but she isn't upset when it happens, either.

After all, just by being with her he protects her as much as she does him.

**Author's Note:**

> i _may_ have seized an opportunity to name people after old friends
> 
> the songs, in order, are you can fly from peter pan, seasons of love from rent (which i am convinced all of us who were ever in a choir STILL know), and all star by smash mouth but yall knew that one
> 
> all the places mentioned in montmartre are real! and my search history probably indicates a trip to paris by now, whoops. as far as i can research the owner of the mondolingua is indeed named mark but i certainly havent met him, so the character only shares his name. and his, uh, musuem. _which i now badly want to go to._


End file.
